In accidents involving apparent injury to the head, neck, and/or spine, the patient is immobilized for treatment and transport. Specifically, the head and cervical spine areas of the patient are routinely immobilized to prevent further injury during transport to a medical facility. For such immobilization, devices such as rigid backboards are typically used to support and assist in immobilizing the patient during this time. A head immobilization device or immobilizer is used with the backboard. For example, the patient is placed on a board and stiff pillows or blocks are placed tightly on either side of his head. A combination of headstraps, chinstraps, and tapes are then tightly secured over the pillows/blocks and the board to fixedly hold the patient's head in place on the board.
Currently, there are several typical types of head immobilizers in use that are incorporated generally with a flat backboard. One type of head immobilization system utilizes a pair of reusable blocks, which are formed of a pliant, yet supportive material such as rigid foam or a suitable vinyl material. Generally, such blocks are secured to a board with hook and loop fastening structures, such as Velcro™.
Another type of immobilizer is disposable and utilizes inexpensive cardboard, which is manipulated to form a support structure for the head and neck. Generally, such a cardboard material is temporarily coupled to a backboard with an adhesive material. Other types of head immobilization systems utilize a combination of reusable and disposable elements that may be temporarily coupled to a backboard.
Although such systems have proven suitable for use with a backboard to immobilize a patient, they present other problems. While reusable foam or vinyl blocks may be relatively inexpensive, due to reuse, they must be repeatedly cleaned and maintained after each use to prevent the transmission of unsafe pathogens, either through blood or other bodily fluid, such as vomit. Repeated cleaning of the blocks may cause premature deterioration of the blocks and their covering or outer skin. Also, foam material can effectively turn into a sponge, thus trapping blood-borne pathogens and other pathogens. As such, after a certain amount of use, even reusable blocks will need to be replaced.
Another problem with such reusable blocks is that they are difficult to store when not in use. Emergency medical vehicles provide little excess storage space for equipment and materials. Therefore, generally, the reusable blocks are stored in a location that is remote from the tall narrow opening provided for backboard storage, such as in an ambulance. Separation of key pieces of the patient immobilization equipment for the purpose of storage can often lead to lost or misplaced items. This is particularly critical at an accident or medical emergency when the retrieval time may be critical for the patient's health and well being. Accident scenes are often chaotic environments involving multiple emergency medical service providers. Therefore, any lost time involved in gathering up all the pieces necessary for head and neck support and patient immobilization is particularly undesirable.
Furthermore, because the blocks are separate pieces from the board, they often become lost or are mistakenly collected by other medical providers, such as at an accident scene or during equipment recollection at a medical facility. As may be appreciated, patients may come into a hospital emergency room, supported and immobilized on the equipment of several rescue teams. The rescue teams then return to the scene of the accident for other patients or victims, or go out on other calls, and they leave the equipment at the hospital with their patients. After the equipment is removed, it is often placed in a common area for the various teams to recover. During such recovery, one team or unit may inadvertently grab the equipment of another unit.
Single-use, disposable head immobilization devices and systems do have some advantages over reusable systems in that they are generally smaller, are easier to store in an ambulance, and do not have to be recovered because they are discarded after one use. Furthermore, since they are not reused, they do not have to be cleaned and they do not present a significant risk with respect to transmission of unsafe bodily fluids from one patient to the next. However, because they are single-use devices, an emergency medical service provider must purchase and store a sufficient amount so as not to run out during response to an emergency situation. This requires frequent purchases, control of inventory at a central storage area, and distribution of the devices to all the vehicles that would use the devices. This essentially increases the overall cost of the equipment for an emergency service provider.
Furthermore, because such single-use devices often utilize adhesives for attachment to a backboard, repeated attachments require the removal and cleaning of the board proximate the adhesive. Repeated cleaning of the adhesive portions of the device after each use becomes a nuisance for the user.
Another drawback with disposal head immobilization devices is that they often use cardboard as their primary construction material. Many patients and the public, in general, do not perceive cardboard as a particularly robust material as compared with other materials used to make emergency medical equipment, such as rigid plastic used to make backboards and cervical collars. Patient and public perception of high quality care and equipment materials is an important factor in providing satisfactory service from emergency medical providers. Notwithstanding perception, the robustness of the devices themselves is important. Some patients may require intubation tubes to assist with breathing. Intubated patients who dislodge their tubes would have to be immediately attended to in order to maintain an unobstructed airway. One prevalent cause of a dislodged intubation tube is movement, particularly head movement, which can occur when a patient is panicking or is having a seizure. Therefore, it is important to have robust head immobilization devices that are sufficiently coupled with the backboard in order to keep patients from dislodging their intubation tubes.
Therefore, there exists a need for a patient immobilization device which addresses these issues. The present invention addresses various of the above drawbacks in the prior art and provides other advantages to assist in the care of patients requiring head and neck immobilization.